So-called “embedded-die” technologies, where one or more semiconductor chips are surrounded with a plastic package by techniques such as molding-in, laminating-in or building-up of the plastic layer by layer, have numerous advantages over conventional technologies, where the semiconductor chip is applied to a substrate via contacts such as solder balls and is subsequently surrounded with a plastic package.
The “embedded-die” technologies therefore allow, for example, smaller and lighter devices and make the solid connection of a number of chips in a single package and a higher density of electrical connections possible.
Moreover, the “embedded-die” technologies offer advantages in production. A method is known for producing a semiconductor device with semiconductor chips molded into a plastic molding compound to form a composite panel or a blank, the active upper sides of the semiconductor chips forming a coplanar surface area with the upper side of the composite panel, while their edges and the rear side are covered by the plastic package molding compound. A wiring structure with interconnects that are separated from one another by dielectric layers can be applied particularly well and precisely to the coplanar surface area, without warping due to different materials with different coefficients of thermal expansion.
In the case of such a composite panel or a blank, it is imperative that, for example before the photolithographic processes, a determination of the orientation is carried out. For this purpose, laser markings are usually applied to the plastic packages. Applying these laser markings, however, requires a separate process step and consequently takes a considerable amount of time and incurs additional costs.